THE Panama Canal and Panama itself have always fascinated me. The former for obvious reasons; the latter for Scotland’s attempt to set up a colony, the failure of which directly precipitated the Act of Union.
So I jumped at the chance to cruise through the epic canal, explore Panama City and ride the world’s first transcontinental railway, tracing a number of epochal journeys.
Scots adopting a moral high ground on Empire would do well to look at the Darien Scheme. Scotland chose Panama’s Darien for her attempt to forge a distinct colony, rather than piggybacking England. However, the two fleets that we sent were not arriving on virgin land in today’s Guna Yala province – it was already occupied by the Gunas people.
Scotland’s colony of Caledonia, with its port of New Edinburgh (still known as Puerto Escocés until 2011), failed obviously on moral grounds, but we’ll never know if it could have been an economic success as it was snuffed out. England’s East India Company petitioned their government to pull their backing, cutting financial and military support, leaving Scotland at the mercy of Spain.
Darien failed and Scotland’s economy crashed. In just a few short years, our still financially stricken country signed the Act of Union.
Arriving in Panama, I was surprised at how many people had heard of Scotland’s colonial ambitions in the 1690s. I always thought our choice was not a smart one in a malaria-ravaged corner of the Tropics.
“The Scots were thinking about making a route between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans long before the railroad, never mind the Panama Canal, so in one sense they were pioneers,” says my guide Juan.
Keen to explore Gunas culture, I visit Panama City’s Museo de la Mola, which celebrates the Gunas people, bringing out the richness of Guna Yala art. The symbolic significance of this new gallery thriving in the heart of the old colonial heart of Panama City is not lost on me. I leave on a positive after learning that this is no “historic” gallery, as the artistic styles are woven into contemporary indigenous and Panamanian culture.
The best way to explore the Panama Canal is on a cruise ship, but surprisingly few come through – guides instead choosing the islands of the eastern Caribbean. I join Viking Cruises, which offers multiple options. I spend two whole days wrapped in a remarkable feat of engineering that forges 40 miles from ocean to ocean, bisecting Panama in an aquatic bridge that lies where two continents meet.
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I’m proud of Scotland’s Caledonian Canal, but any similarities are blown out of the balmy waters by the hulking locks at Miraflores and the crocodile lurking below, mere feet from my cabin. The steel lock gates are gargantuan and help sweep ships up a whopping 54ft.
If that is not impressive enough, a new set of even bigger locks opened in 2016 to accommodate the world’s largest container ships.
Transiting the locks is a fascinating joy. Captain Atle Knutsen explains: “We only have six feet of clearance. The local pilots are experts, but it is my responsibility to get us safely through”.
A tug is on standby just in case. As are the “mule” trains, which take the place of the real mules used when the canal opened in 1914. Progress is slow, allowing time to appreciate the scale and drama.
That drama doesn’t end when we clear the Miraflores locks as we gouge through the Culebra Cut. Here, the mountains were bashed asunder to let the canal through, nature retaliating for years with epic mudslides. Eventually, we ease into Gatun Lake. This is one of the world’s largest artificial lakes, built for the mass of water needed for the gravity-driven Panama Canal locks.
The Gatun Locks descend to the even balmier waters of the Caribbean Sea at the city of Colon. I’m not done with the canal yet as I enjoy a lecture on its history aboard (Viking stages a series), before joining a Viking excursion back west the following day on the world’s first transcontinental railroad – The Panama Canal Railway.
The train trip offers totally different perspectives of the Panama Canal. It was essential in helping build the canal after opening in 1855. Rebuilt in 1998, today it offers a smooth ride. I eschew the cosseted domed car for the carriage open to the elements. I see the monster ships hulking their way through the canal and edging closer to the rich flora and fauna of Gatun Lake.
Once at Balboa, we nip back into Panama City for lunch and to take in the views of a city with the most skyscrapers in the Americas after New York and Chicago. The next stop is the Miraflores IMAX 3D where I learn more about the Panama Canal. I learn more afterwards at the Miraflores Visitor Centre and enjoy a ringside seat at their viewing gallery as a brace of ships navigates the locks.
I’m back aboard now, slipping our lines as we sail northbound for Costa Rica, Honduras, Belize and Mexico. I will share their delights with you next week. As I turn my back on the Panama Canal, the name of the tug assisting our ship is, of course, the Darien.
Viking Cruises (www.vikingcruises.com) offers a choice of cruises that navigate the Panama Canal, with a number of excursion options.
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